Manchester Airport. How can it be so bad?
Discussion
Dog Star said:
Carl_Manchester said:
Is anyone travelling regularly on business through MAN T1 that can give their recent experience?
I travel to Gibraltar out of T1 for work quite regularly normally, however I'm not on some business class or flag carrier, it's with Easyjet (daily flight). Outbound it's a 6.10 flight so it's arrive at 3am as per advice. Last time the queue for bag drop was snaking out through the car park, luckily I'd gone hand luggage only (2 bags with a long legroom seat) so it was security only with was 15-20 minutes. I'm not going again until this chaos ends - I might just have got lucky with the security queue.
Dog Star said:
Carl_Manchester said:
Is anyone travelling regularly on business through MAN T1 that can give their recent experience?
I travel to Gibraltar out of T1 for work quite regularly normally, however I'm not on some business class or flag carrier, it's with Easyjet (daily flight). Outbound it's a 6.10 flight so it's arrive at 3am as per advice. Last time the queue for bag drop was snaking out through the car park, luckily I'd gone hand luggage only (2 bags with a long legroom seat) so it was security only with was 15-20 minutes. I'm not going again until this chaos ends - I might just have got lucky with the security queue.
This is a cross-post for the Manchester and Chaos threads.
Flew out to MLB from MAN after picking up a mega cheap fly-drive deal 48hrs previously.
I was apprehensive given stories of massive delays at MAN.
Flight was at 12:15, arrived a little early by genuine accident (0800 rather than 0900) to the T2 meet and greet, parked and checked in in 2-3mins.
Zero checkin queue with TUI - took about 6mins to get to 1 bag checked and get boarding passes.
Through to security. The queue was quite long but moving very quick - took roughly 35mins to get fully through and that accounts for a 10min delay which was my fault as they now want inhalers to be in clear plastic bags at MAN, which is a first and I’ve never seen anywhere at all.
So from parking the car to getting into the 1903 lounge it was under 50mins.
Happy days!
Flew out to MLB from MAN after picking up a mega cheap fly-drive deal 48hrs previously.
I was apprehensive given stories of massive delays at MAN.
Flight was at 12:15, arrived a little early by genuine accident (0800 rather than 0900) to the T2 meet and greet, parked and checked in in 2-3mins.
Zero checkin queue with TUI - took about 6mins to get to 1 bag checked and get boarding passes.
Through to security. The queue was quite long but moving very quick - took roughly 35mins to get fully through and that accounts for a 10min delay which was my fault as they now want inhalers to be in clear plastic bags at MAN, which is a first and I’ve never seen anywhere at all.
So from parking the car to getting into the 1903 lounge it was under 50mins.
Happy days!
Alorotom said:
that accounts for a 10min delay which was my fault as they now want inhalers to be in clear plastic bags at MAN, which is a first and I’ve never seen anywhere at all.
Always been the case - you must have just been 'lucky' previously.The whole thing with liquids is a joke though - I had a 200ml bottle of liquid (I didn't want to dump it and I wasn't supposed to be flying) along with loads of other stuff in my plastic bag going through security the other day - nobody batted an eyelid.
MarkJS said:
Always been the case - you must have just been 'lucky' previously.
The whole thing with liquids is a joke though - I had a 200ml bottle of liquid (I didn't want to dump it and I wasn't supposed to be flying) along with loads of other stuff in my plastic bag going through security the other day - nobody batted an eyelid.
It’s odd and surely I can’t have been that lucky - they’ve been in the same pocket in my carry on bag for a long time and I’ve done at least 30 long haul and god knows how many internal flights, but you live and learn. The whole thing with liquids is a joke though - I had a 200ml bottle of liquid (I didn't want to dump it and I wasn't supposed to be flying) along with loads of other stuff in my plastic bag going through security the other day - nobody batted an eyelid.
I do like the new scanners where you don’t have to take anything out of your bags though! Shame not many (if any?) in the Uk have them yet.
Alorotom said:
MarkJS said:
Always been the case - you must have just been 'lucky' previously.
The whole thing with liquids is a joke though - I had a 200ml bottle of liquid (I didn't want to dump it and I wasn't supposed to be flying) along with loads of other stuff in my plastic bag going through security the other day - nobody batted an eyelid.
It’s odd and surely I can’t have been that lucky - they’ve been in the same pocket in my carry on bag for a long time and I’ve done at least 30 long haul and god knows how many internal flights, but you live and learn. The whole thing with liquids is a joke though - I had a 200ml bottle of liquid (I didn't want to dump it and I wasn't supposed to be flying) along with loads of other stuff in my plastic bag going through security the other day - nobody batted an eyelid.
I do like the new scanners where you don’t have to take anything out of your bags though! Shame not many (if any?) in the Uk have them yet.
, but I only know this as I carry an inhaler in my hand luggage myself - I used to fly a lot with work and got caught out a few times by forgetting to take it out. I never even use the thing thankfully. MarkJS said:
I’m not sure about your level of luck , but I only know this as I carry an inhaler in my hand luggage myself - I used to fly a lot with work and got caught out a few times by forgetting to take it out. I never even use the thing thankfully.
The thing that still amazes me is that the people who run airports actually think you can blow a plane out of the sky with an inhaler. , but I only know this as I carry an inhaler in my hand luggage myself - I used to fly a lot with work and got caught out a few times by forgetting to take it out. I never even use the thing thankfully. 
snuffy said:
The thing that still amazes me is that the people who run airports actually think you can blow a plane out of the sky with an inhaler.
They don't, it's just primarily theatrical bulls
t to make people who are not thinking feel 'safer'.The pilot and writer Patrick Smith has some interesting points to make about airport security and aviation generally:
https://askthepilot.com/
He was once prevented from taking a spoon onto his own aircraft by a security goon on the basis that he was forbidden to take anything onboard that 'could potentially give access to the cockpit'. He was flying the plane.
paulguitar said:
They don't, it's just primarily theatrical bullst to make people who are not thinking feel 'safer'.
The pilot and writer Patrick Smith has some interesting points to make about airport security and aviation generally:
https://askthepilot.com/
He was once prevented from taking a spoon onto his own aircraft by a security goon on the basis that he was forbidden to take anything onboard that 'could potentially give access to the cockpit'. He was flying the plane.
There is a PHer mate of mine who owns a sheet metal fabrication company and was involved in some work building T5 at Heathrow. t to make people who are not thinking feel 'safer'.The pilot and writer Patrick Smith has some interesting points to make about airport security and aviation generally:
https://askthepilot.com/
He was once prevented from taking a spoon onto his own aircraft by a security goon on the basis that he was forbidden to take anything onboard that 'could potentially give access to the cockpit'. He was flying the plane.
Even when building the airport all contractors had to go through security scanners in the standard way. One of his lads was stopped as he had a teaspoon in his overall pocket. When asked why he advised he had a cough and it was for his cough medicine. The spoon was confiscated from him.
His bag, meanwhile, was let through and contained his tools of the trade. Including countless Stanley knives, drills, chisels, cutting blades etc.
paulguitar said:
He was once prevented from taking a spoon onto his own aircraft by a security goon on the basis that he was forbidden to take anything onboard that 'could potentially give access to the cockpit'. He was flying the plane.
Reminds me of the old joke
"Mum, I don't want to go to school today"
"But you've got to son, you're the headmaster"
paulguitar said:
They don't, it's just primarily theatrical bullst to make people who are not thinking feel 'safer'.
The pilot and writer Patrick Smith has some interesting points to make about airport security and aviation generally:
https://askthepilot.com/
He was once prevented from taking a spoon onto his own aircraft by a security goon on the basis that he was forbidden to take anything onboard that 'could potentially give access to the cockpit'. He was flying the plane.
I shall have a read of that, thanks.t to make people who are not thinking feel 'safer'.The pilot and writer Patrick Smith has some interesting points to make about airport security and aviation generally:
https://askthepilot.com/
He was once prevented from taking a spoon onto his own aircraft by a security goon on the basis that he was forbidden to take anything onboard that 'could potentially give access to the cockpit'. He was flying the plane.
The liquid think is another example of those in authority refusing to admit they were wrong. So all this liquid nonsense carries on just so a few people don't lose face.
I think the idea is that if a number of people were working together, they could, between them carry on enough stuff to cause an explosion. All they would need is a fully equip laboratory and they would be away. Quite how you'd manage to construct one in the bog on the plane has never really been explained.
Shnozz said:
There is a PHer mate of mine who owns a sheet metal fabrication company and was involved in some work building T5 at Heathrow.
Even when building the airport all contractors had to go through security scanners in the standard way. One of his lads was stopped as he had a teaspoon in his overall pocket. When asked why he advised he had a cough and it was for his cough medicine. The spoon was confiscated from him.
His bag, meanwhile, was let through and contained his tools of the trade. Including countless Stanley knives, drills, chisels, cutting blades etc.
But a 1L bottle of whisky on a plane ? No issue there at all, perfectly fine.Even when building the airport all contractors had to go through security scanners in the standard way. One of his lads was stopped as he had a teaspoon in his overall pocket. When asked why he advised he had a cough and it was for his cough medicine. The spoon was confiscated from him.
His bag, meanwhile, was let through and contained his tools of the trade. Including countless Stanley knives, drills, chisels, cutting blades etc.
I think you could quite easily kill someone with that.
dirky dirk said:
Afternoon flights seem better
Mrs works airside its literally hit and miss
Didn’t work so well yesterday after a TUI plane had an engine fire mid-afternoon. Daughter was over 3hrs late back from Turkey last night as the outbound was delayed. Mrs works airside its literally hit and miss
OK, you can’t legislate for that, but she said what was annoying that it took nearly an hour to get the air-bridge in place at MAN, and this was at 5AM, so not exactly busy. She lives 30mins from the airport - landing to home took 3hrs.
Sheepshanks said:
Didn’t work so well yesterday after a TUI plane had an engine fire mid-afternoon. Daughter was over 3hrs late back from Turkey last night as the outbound was delayed.
OK, you can’t legislate for that, but she said what was annoying that it took nearly an hour to get the air-bridge in place at MAN, and this was at 5AM, so not exactly busy. She lives 30mins from the airport - landing to home took 3hrs.
at 5AM I can imagine them actually being quite busy..OK, you can’t legislate for that, but she said what was annoying that it took nearly an hour to get the air-bridge in place at MAN, and this was at 5AM, so not exactly busy. She lives 30mins from the airport - landing to home took 3hrs.
Sheepshanks said:
surveyor said:
at 5AM I can imagine them actually being quite busy..
It’s getting busy with lots of departures coming up but those aircraft would have been in place and connected up overnight.There’s only a couple of arrivals during the night.
The person moving the airbridge is likely to be a handling agent that also does all sorts of other jobs also like bringing paperwork to the aircraft or supervising departures etc.
They’re also going to prioritise departures as they need the stand free and to reduce fines and compo etc
These staff shortages can affect all sorts of things needed to get an aircraft away or an arriving one on stand and disembarked and obviously your ability to check in at the beginning or get your bags at the end of your trip.
Then there’s security personnel, refuellers, tug drivers etc etc
All made worse if you arrive away from schedule or you’re near a shift change.
Edited by anonymous-user on Sunday 31st July 17:47
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